Worker Convicted Of Murdering Boss

November 03, 1988|By Joseph Sjostrom.

A Du Page County Circuit Court jury found Paulette Fiedler guilty of murder Wednesday for the fatal shooting of her supervisor in an office of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services where they worked.

Fiedler, 38, of Aurora, was also convicted of attempted murder for wounding a coworker in the same incident May 4.

Fiedler will be sentenced on Dec. 1, Judge Robert A. Nolan ruled. The minimum sentence for murder in Illinois is 20 years in prison.

Upon hearing the verdict, Fiedler, who had testified at her trial that she did not believe her boss was dead, maintained the impassive,

expressionless look she held throughout the five-day trial.

At issue in the trial was not whether Fiedler pulled the trigger, but her mental state at the time. Even her lawyer, Stephen Baker, of Wheaton, said in closing arguments that a straight ``not guilty`` verdict would be inappropriate. He sought a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity or guilty but mentally ill.

But the prosecutors-Richard Stock, head of the Du Page County state`s attorney`s criminal division, and assistant State`s Atty. Joseph Birkett-argued that Fiedler has been fabricating symptoms of insanity and that she was in full control of herself at the time of the shootings.

Dr. Henry Lahmayer, a Chicago psychiatrist, testified for the prosecution that Fiedler showed signs of mental illness, including paranoia and emotional instability, and was ``fairly pessimistic about her future.`` But he said there was nothing in her background or in his interview with her last July to indicate anything more serious.

Fiedler was charged with shooting and killing Dale Rowell, her supervisor, as he sat at his desk in the second-floor DCFS office at 1236 S. Highland Ave. in unincorporated Du Page County near Lombard. She then shot and wounded Robert Heft as he walked into Rowell`s office to investigate the noise.

Rowell, married and the father of three children, died later that day. Heft, who is not married, suffered an apparently permanent paralysis of his legs. He has attended most of the trial in a wheelchair.

Testifying in Fiedler`s behalf was Marshall L. Silverstein, a Vernon Hills psychologist. Silverstein, who first examined Fiedler last Sunday, said he believes she suffers from ``delusional disorders`` and is legally insane.

He said Fiedler believes that other people can read her mind and control her behavior, and that the murder charge was filed against her as a device by others, particularly coworkers, to increase their control over her.

To establish legal insanity, the defense must prove the defendant has a mental disease or defect that prevents the defendant from appreciating that his acts are wrong or renders him unable to control his behavior.

Silverstein said he believes Fiedler knows that murder is wrong but she couldn`t stop herself from shooting Rowell and Heft.

In her own testimony, Fiedler contended Rowell was not really dead and that the case against her was a hoax.

Fiedler testified Tuesday, and answered questions lucidly but in a monotone.

Under cross-examination by Birkett she said ``I would rather be dead. . . . I don`t want to be here.``

Early on the day of the shooting, Fiedler had been in U.S. District Court in Chicago at a hearing on a sexual discrimination suit she had filed against her union. The suit was dismissed because she had not showed up for depositions. After leaving the courthouse, Fiedler went to a Du Page County gun shop and pistol range where she did target practice with her five-shot .38 caliber pistol.

She appeared at her office early in the afternoon and attended to some work, then went to Rowell`s office to discuss some grievances.

Dr. Lahmayer testified that she told him about the minutes leading up to the shooting but claimed not to remember the shooting itself.

``She felt (Rowell) was preoccupied. . . . She returned to her office, saw her gun, then saw somebody else go into Rowell`s office. From that point she couldn`t recall anything until handcuffs were being put on her,`` Lahmayer said.

Other DCFS employees called the police after the shooting, and a Lombard detective who was among the first on the scene testified that he put handcuffs on Fiedler and led her away. He said Fiedler told him, ``Take out your gun and shoot me,`` a remark that prosecutors contended signifies that Fiedler did indeed know what she had done.

Heft testified that he saw Fiedler walk into Rowell`s office the afternoon of the murder and some time later heard a loud noise come from that direction. He said he went into Rowell`s office, heard Rowell say ``I`ve been shot,`` and then immediately felt the sharp pain of being shot himself.

Heft said he staggered into the hallway and collapsed, then saw Fiedler emerge from Rowell`s office with a gun in her hand.

Prosecutors argued that she has fabricated symptoms of insanity. Fiedler has been on suicide watch in the Du Page County Jail. She has refused to eat solid food since Aug. 28, and is being fed through a tube inserted into her stomach through her nose.

Prosecutors noted that Aug. 28 was only a few days after a date was set for hearings on her mental competence to stand trial.